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United States Patent |
5,772,362
|
Sims
|
June 30, 1998
|
Racing rail pole driver apparatus and the method of use thereof
Abstract
The movement of relocatable racing rails (10) by manual labor involves the
extraction of poles (16) from the ground and re-insertion of each pole a
fixed distance from its adjacent pole along the path of the new location
of the racing rail, thereby resulting in a time consuming and very labor
intensive operation wherein inaccuracies in placement of the poles can
result in misfits of the relocatable rails over the poles, whereby
readjustment is often required. A transportation apparatus (28) is
provided for carrying poles (16) and measuring a fixed distance between
the last pole and a pole driver mechanism (32) for driving the next pole
(66) into the ground. The pole driver is allowed to move relative to the
transportation apparatus as the apparatus moves along the ground, but the
relative movement is arranged so as to maintain a fixed distance to the
last pole for a time shortly before, during and after the pole driver
mechanism is actuated to drive a pole into the ground. The pole driver
mechanism is attached to the transportation apparatus by a parallelogram
arrangement (42, 56, 58) which allows the required relative movement.
Sensor (72) mounted between the transportation apparatus and the pole
drive mechanism detects the relative movement and a rate of travel of the
transportation apparatus is provided so that as the pole driver mechanism
becomes more vertical with respect to the transportation apparatus, the
speed across the ground is reduced and, if necessary, the transportation
apparatus is stopped.
Inventors:
|
Sims; Anthony McGregor (Mt. Barker, AU)
|
Assignee:
|
Aclis Pty Ltd (AU)
|
Appl. No.:
|
613961 |
Filed:
|
March 8, 1996 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Mar 10, 1995[AU] | PN 1611 |
| Jan 25, 1996[AU] | PN 7760 |
Current U.S. Class: |
405/232; 173/184; 175/19; 405/231; 405/303 |
Intern'l Class: |
E02D 011/00; E21B 007/02; E21B 011/02; E21C 011/00 |
Field of Search: |
405/232,231,303
111/109
172/5
173/42,28,193,194,184
175/19,20
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3507338 | Apr., 1970 | McWaters et al. | 173/28.
|
3583514 | Jun., 1971 | Tyalor | 172/5.
|
3860906 | Jan., 1975 | Browing | 172/5.
|
4193459 | Mar., 1980 | Engstrom | 173/43.
|
4765596 | Aug., 1988 | Fontana.
| |
4915180 | Apr., 1990 | Schisler | 173/22.
|
5040772 | Aug., 1991 | Greens.
| |
5315074 | May., 1994 | Berquist | 175/19.
|
5490568 | Feb., 1996 | Rios et al. | 405/232.
|
Primary Examiner: Taylor; Dennis L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Klauber & Jackson
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A pole locating apparatus for locating in the ground two or more poles
for supporting a racing rail assembly comprising:
a transportation means for carrying a plurality of poles,
a pole driver means pivotally fixed to said transportation means and
operable to drive a pole into the ground, and
a first measurement means located on said transportation means operable for
measuring a predetermined distance between a previously driven pole and
said pole driver means, wherein
as said transportation means moves along the intended path of said racing
rail assembly said first measurement means measures a predetermined
distance between a previously driven pole and said pole driver means, said
pole driver means being actuated so as to drive a pole into the ground
which is a predetermined distance from said previously driven pole.
2. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:
a second measurement means located on said transportation means operable
for measuring a predetermined distance between an existing rail assembly
and said apparatus for maintaining a constant distance at which said poles
are driven into the ground from said existing rail assembly.
3. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said pole drive
pivotal fixing comprises a parallelogram arrangement having upper and
lower ends which are arranged to allow said pole driver means to move
longitudinally of said transportation means while remaining substantially
vertical with respect to said transportation means.
4. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said first
measurement means is attached to said parallelogram arrangement at its
upper end and said pole driver means is attached at its lower end to said
transportation means.
5. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said upper end
of said parallelogram has a resting position which is slightly forward of
vertical with respect to the transportation means and said pole locating
apparatus further comprises a sensor which provides a signal
representative of the closeness of the parallelogram to a right angle
position with respect to the transportation means.
6. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising a
transportation means speed of movement controller which is adapted to
receive said sensor signal and slow the rate of movement of the
transportation means as the parallelogram becomes closer to a position
vertical with respect to the transportation means and conversely increase
the speed of movement of the transportation means when the parallelogram
is further away from a position vertical with respect to the
transportation means.
7. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said pole
driver means is a ram arm extendable to drive a pole temporarily located
on its free end into the ground.
8. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 7 further comprising an
attachment for locating on said free end of said ram for engaging the
upper end of a pole located in the ground and when the ram arm is
retracted extracting the pole from the ground.
9. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first
measurement means comprises:
a shaft attached to said pole driver means through said parallelogram
extending rearwardly of said transportation means and having an engagement
means at its free end arranged to engage an inground pole to provide a
fixed distance between said inground pole and the pole driving means.
10. The pole locating apparatus according to claim 9 further comprising a
first measurement means clearing ram which is actuated to disengage said
measurement means from the previous inground pole after a pole has been
driven into the ground.
Description
This invention relates to relocatable rails used to form a boundary for
racing an in particular to a method and means for locating and extracting
poles upon which relocatable rails are placed.
BACKGROUND
Relocatable racing rails in the horse racing industry are known.
One example of such a coil system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,596
dated 23rd August 1988 for "RACE TRACK CONVERTIBLE GUARD RAIL", which
relates in particular to a pole fixture and other components which are
located in the ground. An inground pole fixture is formed from a first
flexible outer tube portion which extends at least to the surface of the
ground and a second inner tube portion which is retained in the outer tube
portion and located below the surface of the ground and is typically made
of hard plastic or steel. The inner lower tube portion is used to support
a resilient upright pole upon which is placed a hollow post which,
supports the racing rail.
In this specification poles (sometimes also referred to a pins or stakes)
are located at predetermined positions in the ground and posts which
support the rail slide over the poles.
Approximately 6 meter lengths of rail and integral posts are positioned
onto three poles spaced three (3) meters apart. Rails are joined at their
free ends to make the rail structure continuous about the race course.
When in place the rail and posts must be sturdy enough to withstand the
direct, but mainly glancing, blow of a horse and its mounted jockey.
The upright in-ground poles are generally made of a resilient material
having the strength to support both the post and rail sections as well as
absorbing one or more blows of the type described above,
These upright in-ground poles preferably withstand these forces without
breaking or splintering and in most cases return the horse and its jockey
towards the race course.
The safety of jockey and horse is an important consideration in the design
of a suitable racing rail system.
The posts and rail sections are relocatable so that racing track wear can
be distributed evenly over the available track surface.
However, a large manual labour effort is required to relocate 1 to 2
kilometers of post and rail assemblies. Typically, 30 to 40 labourers can
take 4 to 5 hours to reposition a 2 kilometer post and rail assembly.
Each 6 meter length of post and rail is lifted off the upright in-ground
poles and each upright in-ground pole is extracted and hammered into its
new position after which the post and rail section is lowered into its new
location.
Typically a 21 meter chain with marks at 3 meters spacing is temporarily
attached to a first pole and each pole along the length of the chain is
hammered into the ground adjacent each successive 3 meter mark. After each
upright pole along a 6 meter length is positioned in the ground, a post
and rail section is located over them and adjacent rail sections similarly
located and then connected together with joiners.
It is not unusual for the manual operation to space the inground poles too
close or too far apart so that the posts and rail sections can not be
properly fitted and repeated extraction and relocation of one or more
in-ground poles is sometimes necessary.
This invention provides an apparatus and method for accurately relocating a
racing rail which overcomes the abovementioned problems while using less
labour content than previous methods.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In a broad aspect of the invention an apparatus for locating in the ground
two or more poles for supporting a racing rail assembly comprising,
a transportation means for carrying a plurality of poles,
a pole driver means pivotally fixed to said transportation means and
operable to drive a pole into the ground, and
a first measurement means located on said transportation means operable for
measuring a predetermined distance between a previously driven pole and
said pole driver means, wherein
as said transportation means moves along the intended path of said racing
rail assembly said first measurement means measures a predetermined
distance between previously driven pole and said pole driver means, and
said pole driver means is actuated so as to drive a pole into the ground
which is a predetermined distance from said previously driven pole.
In a further aspect of the invention a second measurement located on said
transportation means means operable for measuring a predetermined distance
between an existing rail assembly and said apparatus for maintaining a
constant distance at which said poles are driven into the ground from said
existing rail assembly.
In yet a further aspect of the invention said pole driver pivotal fixing
comprises a pole locating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said pole
driver pivotal fixing comprises a parallelogram arrangement having an
upper and lower ends which are arranged to allow said pole driver means to
move longtitudinally of said transportation means while remaining
substantially vertical with respect to said transportation means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 depicts a partial cross-section of a post and rail section attached
to an upright in-ground pole;
FIG. 2 depicts a side perspective view of a post and rail section adjacent
another post and rail section;
FIG. 3 depicts an apparatus for locating upright in-ground poles spaced a
constant distance from an existing post and rail assembly;
FIG. 4 depicts a side perspective of an apparatus for locating an upright
in-ground pole;
FIG. 5 depicts a side perspective of an apparatus for locating an in-ground
pole;
FIG. 6 depicts a side view of the pole location and extraction means ready
for insertion; and
FIG. 7 depicts a side view of the pole location and extraction means at the
moment of insertion.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 depicts a side view of a post and rail assembly 10 comprising a
substantially horizontal rail member 12 which is attached to a flattened
portion of a post 14. The post is typically of hollow construction.
An upright in-ground pole 16 has been located in the ground 18 such that at
least 150 mm of the pole is located above the ground level. Various
lengths of poles are suitable for the various conditions of the soil and
poles of 655 mm and 855 mms are typically used.
At the base of the post 14 a threaded bolt 20 in located external of the
post which is threadably engaged with a fixed nut 22 on the internal
surface of the post 14. When the threaded bolt 20 is screwed inwards the
post 14 located over the in-ground pole 16 is forced against the in-ground
pole and fixes it thereto.
FIG. 2 depicts a post and rail assembly 10 having at least 2 posts
supporting a rail and a further post and rail assembly 24 adjacent
thereto. A joining member 26 joins the rails to provide a continuous rail
along the length of the racing rail assembly. In this embodiment the
spacing between adjacent poles is 3 meters.
FIG. 3 depicts a top view of an existing post and rail assembly 10 and a
transportation means 28 which travels parallel to the existing post and
rail assembly. The transportations means 28 carries a plurality of poles
30, as well as a pole delivery means for delivering poles to a pole driver
means 32 which drives poles one at a time into the ground preferably
during the movement of the transportation means and along the path of the
new post and rail assembly location at equal distances apart.
The pole delivery means may comprise a person (the transportation means
operator) or may comprise a machine.
A first measurement means 34 is used to determine when and where the pole
driver means 32 is to be actuated to drive poles into the ground at the
appropriate location.
Having described in broad detail the elements of the invention a more
detailed description of at least one embodiment of the invention will now
be provided. It would be understood by those skilled in the art that there
are many variations in the way in which each of the elements described can
be implemented and that no one way or combination of ways is necessarily
better than the other as long as the broad functional requirements
described are met.
In a preferred embodiment the transportation means is a four wheeled
vehicle having four wheels 78 sufficient strength and carry rapacity to
accommodate at least an operator (pole delivery means), a storage space
for carrying a plurality of poles, 30, and the pole driver means 32.
In one embodiment the pole driver means 32 may comprise a hydraulically
driven ram located so as to thrust a pole vertically and downwardly into
the ground upon actuation. Each pole when taken from the pole storage area
may be mechanically or manually inserted into the pole driver means in
anticipation of actuation at an appropriate time and location.
The transportation means may be operated by any convenient power source.
However, since it is likely that the pole driver means will be
hydraulically operated it may be advantageous to power the transportation
means with hydraulic means as well.
The typical means for providing hydraulic operation includes a petrol or
natural gas driven pump set and various control levers and hydraulic lines
to the hydraulically driven elements. All the various control levers may
be located adjacent the operator of the transportation means.
Further the transportation means may be steered from the drivers location,
the steering being performed by hydraulic rams which orientate either
front and/or rear wheels. The pole driver means and transportation means
operator could be alternatively off centre located so as to provide the
counter balancing required while the pole driver means is actuated.
Referring to FIG. 3 a second distance measuring means 36 may be located on
the transportation means to determine a predetermined fixed distance from
an existing post and rail assembly and this second measurement means may
be linked by connection 80 electronically/hydraulically or mechanically to
the steering mechanism 82 which includes steering wheel 84 of the
transportation means 28 so as to allow the transportation means to
automatically move along a path a constant distance from an existing post
and rail assembly without intervention or control by the transportation
means operator.
The second measurement means may also be linked to the steering mechanism
82 however for safety reasons it may be possible for the driver to
over-ride the automatic control with an over-ride means 86.
Whether the means to locate poles in the pole driver means 32 is manual or
automatic, it is preferable to shape the upper portion of the pole to
allow each of them to be temporarily secured one at a time within the pole
driver means until the driving mechanism has been actuated. This may be in
the form of an expanded portion along the upper part of the pole which
engages with a complementary gripping shape or mandrel located internal of
the pole driver means the grip required only being necessary to stop the
pole dropping out.
As previously described the poles are preferably made of a resilient
material and will possibly have various lengths dependent on ground
conditions. The pole driver means is set above the ground at a
predetermined height to ensure that the exposed portion of the in-ground
pole when driven is: substantially the same distance after each operation
Preferably the height of the pole exposed above ground level is 150 mm.
One embodiment of the first measurement means may comprise a shaft 38 which
projects rearwardly of the transportation means 28 from the vicinity of
the pole driver means 32 and which is linked to the actuation mechanism of
the pole driver means as well as the speed control means of the vehicle.
A hook, roller or other form of engagement means 39 projects from the shaft
38 and when it engages with a previously set in-ground pole 41 the shaft
which is linked to the pole driver means actuates the driver means. The
next pole is thus located a predetermined distance from the previously
located pole. There is also a linkage from the rod to a potentiometer
which according to its valve, controls the speed of the transportation
means thus slowing or nearly halting during actuation of the pole driving
means.
This particular embodiment uses a mechanical measurement gauging approach.
However, this is but one example of a measurement means capable of
performing this function. It may also be possible to determine a
predetermined distance from an existing in-ground pole by way of
non-contact means e.g. opto-electronic, ultra-sonic, radar etc. However,
it is preferable that the first measurement means accurately locate each
successive in-ground pole position to an accuracy acceptable for the
placement of post and rail assemblies thereon which is between 1 and 3 mm.
It is also preferable that the first measurement means is useable while the
transport means is moving or at least being slowed down in a controlled
manner. This ensures that the speed with which the in-ground poles are
located is as quick as possible.
The transportation means may preferably be found more easily controllable
with a constant forward velocity rather than requiring the transport means
to continually stop and start. This however may require the pole driving
means to be moveable with respect to the transportation means. An
embodiment of this type is shown in FIG. 5.
The second measurement means 36 as depicted pictorially in FIG. 3 provides
for measurement of a predetermined distance of the new location of the
in-ground poles from an existing post and rail assembly. The second
measurement means may comprise a mechanical linkage (hydraulic control
lever arm) 80 between the steering mechanism 82 of the transportation
means 28 and rod 40 which has a predetermined length such that the pole
driver means will insert poles in the ground a predetermined constant
distance from an existing post and rail assembly.
In one example the rod 40 may support a roller 43 which rolls along the
outer surface of the rail member 12 located on the post and rail assembly
10 and which also is sensitive to the roller not contacting the rail
assembly such that the transportation means is controlled to maintain a
path which is parallel to the existing post and rail assembly.
The second measurement means is shown and described in the preferred
embodiment is mechanical in nature. However, it is possible to use
contactless means to determine a path parallel to the existing post and
rail assembly,
In a further embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for locating and
extracting an in-ground pole, is depicted in FIG. 5, In this embodiment
the pole driver means 32 floats with respect to the frame of the
transportation means 28 so that the transportation means need not
completely stop or slow down as much while a pole is being driven into the
ground.
The pole driver means 32 (typically an hydraulically driven ram) is fixed
to a frame comprising a top element 42 a vertical element 44 and a bracing
element 46 having pivot members 48 and 50 attached to the top element and
a further pivot member 52 attached to the join of the vertical element and
the shaft 38. The shaft 38 extends rearwardly and beside the
transportation means which is the fixed length measurement portion of the
first measurement means 34.
The pivot members 48 and 50 are arranged to pivot on the upper ends of
upright members 56 and 58 which themselves are arranged to pivot at their
lower ends at pivot members 60 and 62 which are fixed to the frame 28 of
the transportation means.
From FIGS. 6 and 7 it can be seen that the pole driver means 32 can move
forward and backward (as indicated by the directional arrow) with respect
to the longitudinal axis of transportation means with the aid of the
parallelogram mechanism described above while keeping the pole driver ram
vertical.
In use the pole driver means 32 is biased slightly forward of the position
shown in FIG. 5 by a two-way hydraulic ram 70 which is filled with
hydraulic oil so as to draw the frame toward the front of the
transportation means. Once the first measurement means 34 is mechanically
drawn rearward by the shaft 38 and along with it the pole driver means
supported as it is by the parallelogram mechanism, an actutation of the
pole driver is initiated when the pole driver ram is located a fixed
predetermined distance from the last driven pole (as shown in FIG. 5).
Thus a small minimal forward motion of the transportation means can be
accommodated while the pole is being driven vertically into the ground
while the distance between the last pole and the newly driven pole remains
constant. The ability to provide a constant distance between successive
poles can be very useful since any inconsistency will readily show up over
the long distances (100's of meters of race track) of the racing rail
being installed,
Furthermore, control box 64, is used to detect movement of the pole driving
framework by way of movement of a sensor 72 which preferably is a
potentiometer. As the value of the signal received from the sensor
indicates the pole driving framework is nearing a right angle with respect
to the frame 28 the speed of the transportation means is reduced almost to
a standstill. A graduated or infinitely variable position detection device
such as a potentiometer is most suitable for providing a position
detection sensor and as the framework moves to provide a right angle
position the transportation means can be made to proportionately slow
down. Thus the floating pole driving means can be actuated and during its
operation to locate the pole 66 in the ground with a vertical orientation
and without any or little forward tilt caused by movement of the
transportation means during the insertion process. Normal speed will
resume after insertion of the pole. The control box can automatically
operate the forward speed of the hydraulically driven transportation means
without operator intervention.
Once the pole has been driven into the ground the hook, roller or other
form of engagement means 39 at the free end of the shaft 38 which in this
embodiment is a roller, must be cleared of the prior pole thus freeing it
to roll to the pole just driven into the ground.
Actuation of the ram 32 which operates very quickly could be one trigger
for the actuation of ram 74 which is connected at one end, to the frame of
the transportation means and at the free end of the ram rode to a point
intermediate the framework and the roller along the shaft 38. The ram 74
retracts its arm and raises the shaft 38 and the roller 39 over the pole
and then lowers it after a predetermined period of time if the
transportation means is detected as moving forward during that period of
time.
The apparatus disclosed in each of the embodiments described above are also
capable of extracting poles from the ground. The pole driver means 32 is
preferably a double action ram being operable under load to thrust
downward and lift upwardly so that if located over the free end of a pole
located in the ground it may engage that free end and be actuated to lift
upwardly and extract the pole from the ground.
The pole driver/extraction means 32 can be accurately located over the pole
to be extracted preferably with the aid of a shaft (not shown) extending
forwardly of the apparatus which abuts the side of one or more in-ground
poles which is connected to the steering of the transportation means so as
to guide the vehicle along the path of the in-ground poles. Minor manual
adjustment of the steering mechanism may be required to achieve the
required accuracy of path following.
A forward portion of the pole driver/extraction means 32 at approximately
ground level can he used to detect the location of the pole to be
extracted and as in the last embodiment, as the floating frame moves to an
upright position the drive speed of the transportation means is controlled
and the actuation of the pole extraction process can be initiated by the
control box 64 or more preferably by the human operator on the
transportation means. Human control may obviate inadvertent automatic
operation if the necessary safety features are not adequate.
The poles collected are then stored on the transportation means and are
ready for being driven into new locations.
The in-ground pole locating apparatus of the invention is quicker and more
accurate than the manual methods used previously. However, in further
contrast to the previous manual methods very much less manual labour is
required to operate the in-ground pole locating apparatus and it is
anticipated that a reduction in labour costs and possibly time will be
achievable with the invention.
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